Capital Punishment
...ebates. From Stephen Clark to Timothy McVeigh1, Americans have passionately about the purpose, methods, and effects of capital punishment. Capital punishment has certainly been one of the most controversial topics in America's history dating back from the colonists to the inauguration of President George W. Bush. The year was 1755, in a town called Charlestown, Massachusetts. Two slaves, Mark and Phillis came up with a deceiving plan to kill their master and escape his cruelty. Mark poisoned his master's food and he was unable to recover. They were caught and immediately put on trial. The execution began around noon, when the condemned slaves were taken to the gallows. Three ministers followed, collaborating Hail Marys to ensure both attained penitence, and were able to indulge in a heavenly afterlife. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and encompassed the gallows. Both men stood tall while the sheriff read the death warrants to the crowd but when it was their turn to address the audience, Phillis cried uncontrollably. It was then the minister delivered his sermon. The two others joined in on a prayer whiling having nooses slipped on around their necks. The end was near and rightfully so, the trap doors in the floor sprang open, and both Mark and Phillis dropped a few feet and stopped with an abrupt jerk. As the eighteenth century cliché put it, "Dangling between heaven and earth."2 The government used Mark's body as an example to deter crimes. His body was put on display for the whole public to view and it did leave a lasting impression. Forty-three years later, when Paul Revere described his famous ride of 1775, he said, "After I had passed Charlestown Neck, and got nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on horseback under a tree."3 If Paul Revere could assume that people knew of the place he ...